I think there's a statement in the Art of War that says "If you wait long enough by a stream, you will see the bodies of your enemies float by". Well, I don't really think the 72 and earlier cars are enemies (although some owners are). But at least here's another article saying 70s cars are getting attention.

Heck, even Chevelles.com allows 70s versions in now. I'm old enough, and when my 75 Laguna was running, to remember when I went to a car show and was told my 75 wasn't a real car. Of course all the 6 cylinder, bench seat, Powerglide 60s Chevelles WERE hot rods!

I've seen more and more of these articles in the last five years or so. On one hand, I'm happy for the recognition. On the other, I REALLY like being one of the few that knows the truth. It's like being in a secret club that's about to get invaded by outsiders.

As far as the 64/72 Chevelle guys, I could care less what the loudmouth nutty ones say. The critics are usually little old men with nothing more to do than spend their days inspecting tiny little numbers stamped on a bolt or cleaning a brake drum with a Q-tip. The rest of their time is taken up hobbling around at car shows or posting on forums criticizing other people. Why would anyone be concerned about the thoughts of a nitwit loser like that? The funny part is many of them are slowly realizing they are in the minority now, and keeping their flapper shut.

The majority of car guys are CAR guys, and they like cars regardless of year, make or model.

On the one hand, it's nice to see some recognition for these cars -- now that more people are interested in them (and joining here), the aftermarket will start paying a little more attention and more will get saved from the crusher.

On the other hand, suddenly my car is good enough to be included in your club because you've finally come to the realization that your membership is dying off and the price of the cars has become unattainable? Fark those people. I got along just fine without them before, and I sure as hell don't need them now.

My father-in law was a street rod guy, so of course his cronies are as well. They are all in their late sixties to mid seventies. My car is "too new". I can see where they may think that. When I'm 70, I may think the same thing about a 2005 Mustang.

They are all members of NSRA and they had an absolute hissy-fit when that club began allowing pre-1980 cars. The NSRA made that move for exactly the reasons you stated above. Their numbers are shrinking as members disappear. The club needs the $$, but the current members don't make the newer cars welcome. They are doomed. They also are shocked that the interest/demand for their type of cars has dropped off dramatically. They can't believe that they can no longer get the kind of money for a 36 Ford that they could ten years ago. They don't understand why a 30-50 year old guy has no interest in buying a $50,000 Bel Air or 1945 Dodge.They haven't figured out that guys usually have more interest in cars they can relate to. Something they owned or wanted when they were kids. A few years from now, same thing will start to happen to the 58-72 cars.

Oh, it will never die off...neither will interest in pre 1960 cars. It WILL wane though and the price bubble will burst, like with everything else. I just find it amusing the amount of one-upsmanship and ego among some car guys. They live in an imaginary world where they believe owning a certain car makes them better than others, especially among their own peers. Then they figure out that the car isn't as cool as it was before.

Roadcaptain S3 wrote:Oh, it will never die off...neither will interest in pre 1960 cars. It WILL wane though and the price bubble will burst, like with everything else. I just find it amusing the amount of one-upsmanship and ego among some car guys. They live in an imaginary world where they believe owning a certain car makes them better than others, especially among their own peers. Then they figure out that the car isn't as cool as it was before.

Boy do I hear you on that! Usually its just guys that like their cars not cars in general. I thought it was only in this part of the country that we had them.

I've seen prices running all over the place for our 73-77's. The highest so far I've seen was a H/O Cutty @ B-J's last season for around $55k. Pristine cars, especially those with some "rarity" like the H/O's will always be more desirable to the "collector-class". Still glad to see a lot of these cars being affordable also so someone else can break into the hobby. I'm doing a budget type nut/bolt resto & spending some $$ but fortunately my car was not too far gone & doesn't need extensive body work. Personally I don't care if I ever break even or see any return on investment as I plan to drive the $h!t out of it an enjoy it for as long as I can.

Roadcaptain S3 wrote:Oh, it will never die off...neither will interest in pre 1960 cars. It WILL wane though and the price bubble will burst, like with everything else. I just find it amusing the amount of one-upsmanship and ego among some car guys. They live in an imaginary world where they believe owning a certain car makes them better than others, especially among their own peers. Then they figure out that the car isn't as cool as it was before.

Boy do I hear you on that! Usually its just guys that like their cars not cars in general. I thought it was only in this part of the country that we had them.

I ran across that a lot more with the mustang groups. I tend to favor the 65/66s and the Fox body. Those guys are as bad or worse than Chevelle guys. They also have the sub-group snobbery. The fastback guys hate the coupes, the 67-68 guys hate the fox bodies etc etc.

That's funny (& true). I see it with Vette owners here at shows all the time with the different generations. The best is when someone brings up a brand new ZO6 or whatever to a show and they all look at them like wtf- that's a new car!

Limey SE wrote:Try having a Cobra II you get crap from both sides of the realm, Shut them up when I started the 351 That I had crammed between the rails. And pulled fronts off ground. LOL

When I was trying to get my '75 mustang ii going (bought to fix & flip) I had no idea certain parts were obsolete. No gas tank or straps available anywhere. It was a 302 car, so I told everyone I had a 5.0 mustang....

Its really bad when you have guys with different gen cars hammering each other. Thats just dumb. You prefer one over the other is one thing but to bad mouth the other gyy is like being a child. Its a hobby. Get over it,right?

ant7377 wrote:Its really bad when you have guys with different gen cars hammering each other. Thats just dumb. You prefer one over the other is one thing but to bad mouth the other gyy is like being a child. Its a hobby. Get over it,right?

Out at the local shows here theres almost always at least 1 person that comes up to me and proceeds to talk down on my 73, but I let them talk then enjoy laughing at them

Usually goes something like

Guy : "Hey this your car?"Me : "Yep"Guy : "Why would you waste your money on one of those? I would never own one of them, your just wasting your money"Me : "Well I guess its a good thing your names not on the title then"Guy : "You'll never get your money back out of these cars, the only thing they are good for is demo derby/scrap metal/dirt track/etc"Guy : "You should have bought a (insert random 64-72 year here), those are worth building, not these big ugly things."Me : "Like this?" (pointing to my 67 parked next to my 73)Guy : "Yeah see now thats a real Chevelle"Me : "I built that one too, in fact Ive owned it since I was 13"Guy : "Oh, well, ummmm...." then walks away

Its always priceless to see them try to think of something else to say after I tell them that the 67 parked next to the 73 is mine as well. Kind of hard for them to tell me I dont know what Im talking about at that point

I really never had anyone be that condesending to me about my car. Usually I get alot of complements on them. That kind of conversation deserves a smack in the mouth! Lol! I had 2 ladies stop me here in my neighborhood and want to take a picture with my 73. Monte Carlos were so popular here, seems like everyone had one. I really can find something in any old car that I like. Dont really understand why people feel they have to question someones preferance in what they spend their money on.

ant7377 wrote:Its really bad when you have guys with different gen cars hammering each other. Thats just dumb. You prefer one over the other is one thing but to bad mouth the other gyy is like being a child. Its a hobby. Get over it,right?

Out at the local shows here theres almost always at least 1 person that comes up to me and proceeds to talk down on my 73, but I let them talk then enjoy laughing at them

Usually goes something like

Guy : "Hey this your car?"Me : "Yep"Guy : "Why would you waste your money on one of those? I would never own one of them, your just wasting your money"Me : Who tha **** asked ya,pappy?Guy : "You'll never get your money back out of these cars, the only thing they are good for is demo derby/scrap metal/dirt track/etc"Guy : "You should have bought a (insert random 64-72 year here), those are worth building, not these big ugly things."Me : Smack,punch,kick,peeGuy : "Yeah see now thats a realbutt kickin' "Me : Somebody call an ambulance for this dumb old ****** pleaseGuy : "ouch,gurgle,uhhhhhh,gasp" then drive away on ambulance/quote]

I've had 4 G3 El Caminos, and two G3 Chevelle/Malibus. I've never had any insults come my way about them. If fact, everyone really likes my '74 Malibu, and there were always folks asking if I would sell the El Camino(s).Now if you drove an AMC Gremlin to a car show, it may get interesting !!

I see a Gremlin every year at my father in law's car show. Same lady has owned it since new. More people stop to talk and have their pic made (including me) with her car than the other cars parked near her. It's a six banger and looks brand new. I love it cuz it's different and I had a friend with one back in the day. His was purple and we had a blast in that ugly creature.

There's ALWAYS been crap about our cars not being included. Anyone remember Aces? They were totally biased to the earlier years. Don't know if that's changed... And you know what? I don't care! Done care about ANY organization that doesn't recognize our cars, cause I don't care about them. I like these styles of car before they became popular. I don't give a crap what anyone's negative opinion of our cars is. I MUST be getting old!It's funny... Was driving them in the late 80's when they weren't "cool" to most people... And I'll be driving it again (God help me that I get it done!!)... And I again, won't care about anyone's condescending stupid remarks about the style of car it is. Get in your 64-72 mainstream Chevy product, enjoy it all you want! I think they're cool, just ask for some respect in return! Ohh yeah and thanks ACES for the exclusion to your "little group" That's why we have our OWN following! Should call it Spades... Or something I dunno. I'm in the hospital, bored ,hopefully go home in a day or so 42 isn't THAT damn old!Where's the Tylenol?!

Last edited by chevellelaguna on Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:09 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : No edit it's pretty good after all for 1:08 in the morning, I don't care about grammar!)

I actually think the 68-72 chevelles kinda look like turtles with that odd,rounded body shape.Back in the 70's a guy from school had a p.o.s. '69 chevelle round track car that was a total joke with the sloppiest suspension set-up it was top-heavy and plowing the corners until he finally crammed it into the guardrail.What a sad way to end the car's life..

ant7377 wrote:I really never had anyone be that condesending to me about my car. Usually I get alot of complements on them. That kind of conversation deserves a smack in the mouth! Lol! I had 2 ladies stop me here in my neighborhood and want to take a picture with my 73. Monte Carlos were so popular here, seems like everyone had one. I really can find something in any old car that I like. Dont really understand why people feel they have to question someones preferance in what they spend their money on.

Oh dont get me wrong, 99% of the people that I talk to about the car like it and are interested in it cause they either dont know what it is or didnt even know there was a chevelle built after 72. Plus how many 73 Chevelles do you see with hubcaps and an LS swap, lol. But it never seems to fail theres always seems to be that 1 guy who has an opinion about everyone elses car (even though his isnt even @ the show) and feels the need to share that opinion with you.